P.E. at Shakespeare Infant School

Intent

A high quality and engaging curriculum prepares all of our children for an active and healthy life. Our children are enthusiastic learners who are intrinsically motivated because they find physical activity fun and they feel proud of their progress. At Shakespeare Infant School, our intent is for the children to master basic skills and apply them in a range of physical activities and sports.  They learn that, through practise and repetition, they can become increasingly fluent in a particular movement or skill. Children gain the knowledge to assess their own performance and the performance of others and this means that they also know how to learn and improve. Competency is learnt over time and every child achieves their own, high standard.

Shakespeare Infant School is a safe and stimulating environment with fantastic outdoor resources where children, through careful planning and resourcing, can play and create their own physically challenging and fun experiences.  We encourage the children’s ability to cooperate and experiment building their cultural capital by providing those fundamental skills that they will be able to take forward into adult life. Through this we know that our children will become confident in their abilities and how they can use their bodies.

P.E. is often taught as part of our integrated curriculum. It encourages strong connections to other core and non-core subjects. In addition to these well planned P.E. teaching and learning connections, we encourage the development of our learning values of; collaboration, independence, creativity, spirituality, creativity and thinking. Our intent is to continue to embed our school ethos of ‘we care’ into the planning of P.E.. As a school, we ensure that P.E. is developed around the needs and interests of the 'whole child' where all learning is memorable, focussed and personalised for our pupils' individual needs.

Golden Time!

Once a week on a Friday afternoon, children across the school have the opportunity to choose one of many fantastic activities run by our staff during their Golden Time. Unsurprisingly, the physical activities such as dance, yoga and skipping are popular with lots of children. It's a great way to end the week for everyone.

Children at SIS have many positive role models who work in partnership to help and encourage our learners. These role models are proud of their own unique achievements and they understand the huge impact that they can have on the children who are in their care. Adults and children demonstrate and celebrate good sporting values, more specifically, they understand and manage emotions linked to competition, challenge, winning and losing. Children have the confidence to immerse themselves in to a range of new, inclusive experiences. These memorable, novel experiences build upon previously learnt skills and knowledge. The broad P.E. offering means that all children will leave SIS with a love of sport and P.E. in general and having experienced a good or better level of achievement in a wide range of physical activity. P.E. at SIS is an early step on the path to lifelong participation in sport and exercise.

Children know that they are part of a caring and supportive community. As an individual or as part of a team; in completion or in practice, they feel empowered to contribute, to lead, to be creative and meet new challenges. Children value their health, they understand what they feel like when during and after exercise. Children at SIS respect themselves and others and they understand that they are a valued member of their class, their school and the wider community.

Implementation

Long term P.E. planning at Shakespeare shows that our curriculum is recursive and cumulative. Teachers give children time to secure movements such as running, jumping, sending and receiving. Through professional discussion and clear communication among teachers and we are able use the same language and approach in all year groups. Teachers ensure that children build upon previous learning and acquire fluency of movement before moving promptly to the next step. Children are motivated through appropriate support and challenge.

Year R children have differentiated challenges in gymnastics

Children learn how to peer assess and self-assess from Yr. R onwards. Teachers make isolated skills or elements explicit and modelling how to assess and give feedback. Teachers use questioning such as ‘How can we make this more challenging?’, ‘Why is this successful?’ or ‘How can I improve this?’.

Adults understand and have access to equipment (such as different objects for sending and receiving) and approaches (outlined on planning) that enable inclusivity and differentiation. Teachers and mid-day supervisors reinforce P.E. learning through play at break times by ensuring appropriate equipment is available and leading or playing alongside the children in their class. Children are encouraged to lead these activities themselves or with the aid of 'Playground Pals'. Children volunteer on a weekly basis to help others at lunchtime.

Children, staff members and visitors effectively communicate positive attitudes and sporting achievements with each other, always highlighting effort as well as success. Adults talk to children about their own experiences outside of school, we are proud and not boastful. 

We have a diverse after school sports club offering. Children can choose from football, multiskills, tennis, dance and cycling. Children with the greatest need are identified through effective communication with parents and between school staff. Children receiving pupil premium are given priority and funding for after school clubs.

‘[Physical activity and play] make our lives go better, not just longer.’ – R. Scott Kretchmar

In each scheme of work throughout KS1, children apply learnt skills in either a class, year group or interschool competition. Competition provides the experience of winning and losing in a supportive and safe environment as well as making learning memorable and giving a focus and outcome for any scheme of work. The P.E. lead, supported by all staff members, continually assess and refine the effectiveness of the sports and activities on offer that best meet our intent for pupils. Our broad offer is made up of curriculum time, play time and after school clubs. Information about local community sporting events and sports clubs is communicated effectively to parents and carers through newsletters, our school website and social media. We also have P.E. instructional videos on google classroom and on our school website.

Children are regularly given responsibility within P.E. lessons or during play time. They may, for example, be in charge of equipment, explain rules or suggest new rules, lead a team by talking tactics, lead a warm up or cool down or help a teacher with a demonstration. Adults model respect at all times by demonstrating and explicitly highlighting good sporting values. This may take the form of helping an opposition player, flagging when they have made a mistake or infringed a rule or simply celebrating effort and congratulating others. 

Please click on the following link for the National Curriculum Programmes of Study for PE. 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239040/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Physical_education.pdf